Internal energy company EDF power solutions has announced the commissioning of the 420 MW Koruson 1 cluster, including three wind farms, namely San Kraal, Phezukomoya and Coleskop, located between Noupoort and Middelburg, on the border of the Eastern and Northern Cape.

Developed by a consortium led by EDF power solutions, together with black economic empowerment (BEE) partners H1 Holdings, Gibb-Crede and a local community trust, the Koruson 1 project was awarded under Round 5 of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) in 2021.

The consortium has entered into a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the public grid operator.

In a media release, EDF explains that the consortium also built the largest privately built main transmission substation (MTS) in South Africa, designed to connect up to 1.5 GW of renewable energy, including Koruson 1 and Koruson 2 – a separate 520 MW wind farm currently being developed by EDF power solutions with its energy trader partner Envusa Energy – and other future projects, to the national grid.

EDF says the construction phase of the project proved challenging as Koruson 1 is situated in an isolated area, at a high altitude – over 1 600 m – and covering more than 500 km².

The company explains that over 110 km of access roads had to be built on hilly and rocky terrain for the construction, operations and maintenance of the project, and the components for the 78 turbines and the MTS had to be transported over 400 km from the Coega harbour to the site.

“The project team would like to thank public road users for their patience, and traffic law enforcement for their excellent assistance during the transportation period,” the company expresses.

The 78 wind turbines installed on the three sites have a nominal capacity of 5.6 MW each.

EDF power solutions says it chose to use an innovative turbine system that combines permanent magnet direct drive technology with a full‑power‑conversion synchronous generator.

The company says this provides a rare combination of high efficiency, reliability, unmatched grid‑support capability, and excellent performance in South Africa’s challenging grid environment.

The company says the concrete towers installed for the turbines offered the best project economics, and met economic-development and local-content criteria as required by government.

They were manufactured at a local factory near Middelburg, which employed 400 workers during the construction period.

EDF notes that the 124-m-high concrete towers each constitute 50 keystones, which required the manufacture of 3 900 components, adding that about 40% of the project value comprises local content.

The company says the labour-intensive project required more than 4 600 workers to be on site simultaneously at the peak of construction.

During operations, 1.2% of revenue generated by the projects will be applied to socioeconomic development initiatives for nearby communities.

“We are thrilled to achieve full commercial operation on Koruson 1 – the project contributes significantly to meeting South Africa’s electricity requirements and abating 1.8-million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent a year.

“Koruson 1 is the first project in our portfolio of 1.5 GW of projects under construction, to reach completion. We are especially proud of the fact that this project has been achieved with an excellent safety record,” says EDF power solutions Southern Africa VP Tristan de Drouas.

“The Koruson 1 consortium demonstrates the power of partnership in driving South Africa’s energy transition. This project not only delivers clean, reliable power to the grid, but also creates meaningful opportunities for local communities and businesses.

“We are committed to ensuring that the benefits of renewable-energy development are shared widely, supporting economic growth and empowerment in the regions where we operate,” says H1 Holdings CEO Reyburn Hendricks.

“The successful completion of Koruson 1 is a testament to the dedication and expertise of all the partners involved. Beyond the contribution of the Koruson 1 cluster of projects to South Africa’s economic recovery plan and climate change goals, we are particularly proud of the project’s contribution to local content and job creation.

“The project had a significant impact on the surrounding communities during the construction stage. Our involvement will continue beyond construction as we are also implementing high-impact long-term socio and economic development initiatives to support the environment and our surrounding communities” adds Gibb-Crede chairperson Richard Vries.